Hey all,

Working on my 1987 Ford Ranger 2.9L 6 cylinder, 4X4. Noticed my lower ball joint had a lot of play after replacing the wheel bearings. I am having a difficult time trying to get to the old ball joint. I read in my book I have to take apart my drive shaft. I saw a video online where this man pulled his drive shaft right through the middle of the knuckle. If you have any tips or experience with this, I would really appreciate it! Thank you.



Where my finger is point, I am wondering if i can pull half of the drive shaft through that inner circle?

 

That looks similar to my old F150. If so you need to separate the upper and lower ball joints from the suspension arm and remove the steering knuckle. Pickle fork separator and a BFH work well. The axle half can stay in unless you want to replace u-joints as long as you're in there, but be prepared to replace the seals on the diff if you pull the axles.

 

Thanks for your advice! Waiting for the seal and bearing to get to the store so I can start working on it again. Hopefully I can get to the lower tonight! Thanks again.

 

Keep us up to date on how it goes if you don't mind. I'll no doubt be doing this job at some point in the near future as well.

 

Will do! I wish I took care of this while replacing my wheel bearings. I could be on a NASCAR pit crew how fast I have gotten taking the wheel/hub on and off.